Some habitats can no longer be visited, and others are too small, too dark or too remote to see. Exploria, a new indoor attraction at Mandai Wildlife Reserve in Singapore, brings them into view. Designed and produced by GSM Studios for Mandai Wildlife Group, it spreads across 10,000 square metres and five thematic worlds, with no live animals at all.
Opened on March 3, 2026, Exploria is among the largest nature-themed multimedia attractions in Southeast Asia. Instead of enclosures, it relies on sets, digital imagery and storytelling to introduce around 250 species that rarely appear in popular media, from extinct giants to plankton, with conservation as the underlying message.
GSM Studios, which has teams in Montreal, Singapore and Paris, worked with Mandai from the start. The studio developed the concept, led the design and coordinated an international group of specialists through to installation, among them FORREC for attraction planning, Lightemotion for lighting and the Montreal interactive studio Dpt., which produced the 87 interactive installations with Singapore partner Electronics & Engineering.
Five worlds around a sphere
Visitors begin in Our Interconnected World, a central hub from which the other worlds can be reached in any order. At its centre, a large digital sphere hosts Our Planet Awakens, a multimedia show about the links between all life on Earth. The worlds themselves are not realistic reconstructions: GSM Studios designed them as interpretive, archetypal environments that stay grounded in science while leaving room for surprise.
In Realm of the Giants, a sculptural landscape restores the true scale of dinosaurs and other creatures of the Mesozoic. Augmented reality puts visitors face to face with extinct species, and a 360-degree multisensory show traces the evolution of life over hundreds of millions of years, along with the mass extinctions that interrupted it.
Micro Worlds turns to the very small. A field of illuminated spheres shows plankton, insect colonies, fungi and bacteria, with interactive exhibits and physical models for life below the threshold of human sight.
World of Darkness leads down into deep oceans and caves, where species have adapted to places light never reaches. A labyrinthine layout unsettles the visitor’s sense of direction and draws attention to the other senses these animals depend on.
Infinite Wonderland moves from the sky through forest canopies to coral reefs, a kaleidoscopic route through the planet’s most biodiverse ecosystems.
The fifth world, Bitdeer AI Extreme Frontiers, places visitors in hostile environments, from deserts and polar regions to high mountains and cities. Mixed-media simulators set in infinity rooms add temperature and wind to the experience.
Discovery as play
An RFID system ties the visit together. Each visitor activates an Explorer profile with a digital avatar, then unlocks quests, collects badges for the species they find and tracks their progress across the five worlds. Dpt. built the missions and gameplay around hours of wildlife footage, so that learning depends on taking part. Exploria joins other immersive works on Sketchure that ask visitors to act rather than simply watch.
Design: GSM Studios / @gsmstudios.world
Photography: Mandai Wildlife Group / @mandaiwildlifereserve
Location: Mandai Wildlife Reserve, Singapore
